We'll use the $5,000 award to fund the purchase of iPads to be used in the program!  With  in-kind work on the part of Lisa and other RPL staff, volunteer work by our outstanding Teen Advisory Board and cooperation with the Webster at Rye senior facility, the "Teens, Seniors, and iPads, Oh My!" program will effectively unite the teens with residents of the Webster nursing home.

Teens will teach seniors how to use iPads to access their email, connect with their families using Face Time, and discover other applications to stimulate brain function through technology.  This cross-generational learning program will benefit the Rye community in multiple ways. Seniors will build social connection through interaction with the teens and expanded interaction with others through the offered technology; teens will develop a sense of civic responsibility and connection to their community while gaining shared wisdom through interacting with their elders.  

We congratulate Lisa on her successful grant writing, and look forward to a valuable new service opportunity at Rye Public Library! 

Through the month of October 2013, The Rye Public Library was the Seacoast New Hampshire location for a three-part discussion series on the Second Amendment as part of the Constitutionally Speaking project, a yearlong pilot concept created by the NH Humanities Council, the NH Supreme Court Society, and the UNH School of Law. The Project is intended to increase understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the rights and responsibilities of citizens and government; to help restore the capacity for meaningful civic discourse, and as an exploration of diverse views to elevate the public capacity for analyzing complex issues and encourage more informed perspectives on public policies.

The Rye Public Library sessions on October 8th, 15th, and 22nd invited participants to join their peers to discuss this tremendously important issue with expert facilitation by Dr. Jack Resch, Professor of History and Humanities at the University of New Hampshire Manchester campus, and Professor John M. Greabe of the UNH School of Law. Our academic guides brought their particular acumen to bear through the progression of the series, helping refine the discussion with both historical and legal perspectives.

Consistent with the discussion ground rules, a civil and constructive dialog progressed throughout the sessions, exploring issues raised through readings provided by both facilitators and participants, as well as by personal experience, and current events. A group of up to twenty regional participants joined the conversation for all or part of the three night program. Internet access to designated readings was offered through the Rye Public Library website allowing participants to prepare for each session. Follow-up e-mail newsletters recapped each session and provided links to additional material.   

In the first session Dr. Resch offered historical context on the practical, philosophical and constitutional underpinnings of the Second Amendment. At the second meeting Professor Greabe provided a timeline of key judicial evolution and legal precedent that determines today's interpretation of the Amendment. In the third and final session, participants were invited to join the facilitators in submission of group reading selections. Subsequent discussion synthesized earlier conversations, attempting to isolate key factors that have lead to the charged and divisive elements of today's debate over the right to bear arms in America.  

Throughout the course of the series, multiple viewpoints were considered, and individual opinions expressed. Meaningful context provided through the academic facilitators and selected readings helped inform the discussion and develop shared observations. While the divergent philosophies on either side of the issue were strongly evident in these observations, the impartial, open forum provided by this discussion helped demonstrate that reasoned debate and sensible legislation may ultimately provide working solutions for the complicated issues raised by the right to bear arms in America.

 All readings are available at the Rye Public Library website www.ryepubliclibrary.org and audio transcripts of the sessions are available upon request. See www.constitutionallyspeakingnh.org for information on upcoming programs, newspaper articles, and videos of past talks.